Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-04-20
WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN KANSAS,
Some Incidents OF the Late Canvass an,
Election In Towns Of that State.

Some Incidents Of the Late Canvass and
Election In Towns Of that State.
The Hartford Courant is trying tc
''unravel the mystery of female suf.
frage." 1t takes the case. of Kansas,
where the desire to vote seems to have
been sporadic rather than epidemic,
and from number of sources gets the
following:
While 1900 women registered 10
Leavenworth and 14OO in Topeka,
the number in Atchison-a town
nearly as big as Topeka-was only
800. "The same discrepancy" says
the Chicago Tribune's Kansas CORE
-spondent, "exists in the smaller
towns"
Some of the incdents of the can.
vass and of election day are worth re-
cording.
AT Topeka, the Mayor-the candi-
date for another term-was sum-
moned before the local auxiliary
branch of the Kansas Equal Suffrage
Association to explain why he has not
suppressed the houses of i'll repute in
the town, and was piled with ques-
tions until one of the younger women
beat hasty retreat to the hallway.
The man stood in the middle Of the
room, blushing," writes the CORE.
sponient; "the picture was that of
squaws about stake" y ct he adds
that many of the best, gentlest and
most cultivated women of Topeka
voted on election day-most of them
Immediately after dinner. "Wlves
went to the polls with their husbands,
mothers with their sons, and in many
instances young gentlemen were &C
companied by their sweethearts. Fire.
quently silver haired mother wendell
her way alone to the polls and cast
her ballot" One good woman,
Democrat, presented herself bare
headed, with her baby in her arms;
another, a Republican, was bent On
voting for her pastor for Mayor, aud
only the earnest discussion Of friends
induced her to vote the regular ticket
instead.
Very different were the scenes q,
Wichita. There III women had de-
scribed themselves as Sports" and
they voted solidly against the anti
prohibition candidates. A mob of
5000 gathered around the polls, and
greeted their appearance with cheers,
cat,calls, etc. 1t was at Wichita, by
the way, that the President of the
head branch of the Woman's Chris
tan Temperance Union, toward the
end of the canvas, issued this peculiar
manifesto to the prohibitory voters:
"WuEREAs, The daughters of Judah
have gone about the streets these
many years mourning because
thoughtless men have caused small
and designing rulers to direct affairs,
because they have seen the fair youth
of the land destroyed by sword and
moral pes,ilenoe, and the young maid
ems to become prey to the fowler;
Therefore, Arise ye. Choose re
from among the people able men such
as fear God, MN of truth, hating COW
rtousness, and place such over the
people, to be rulers of thousands and
rulers of hundreds, rulers of ft,ies
and rulers Of tens!"
The excitement ran highest i'm Leav-
enworth, apparently. Mrs. Helen NJ.
Cougar, of Indiana, described as a
prominent temperance organizer"
appeared in that city early in the pro-
ceedings and began a vigorous can
vass in behalf of the Republican nom
inee for Mayor. She had brought
over the Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union to him. and things were
looking very well generally, when in
an unlucky moment she consented to
an interview. The interviewer re.
ported her as saying that, in conse-
quenee of the proximity of military
garrison, the fashionable society of
the town was 'frightfully licentious.
OF course the society women resent
ed the scandalous imputation. This
is putting it very mildly. In vain
Mrs. Cougar protested that she had
never used the words put in her mouth
by the reporter, but had said merely
that ",he upper stratum of society
WAS somewhat licentious." In vain !
she had the reporter arrested for GRIM
inal libel. The society women regis.
tered; then they fell To work as one !
woman for the Democr candidate,
Mr.. n ,ely. and elected him by u
majority. How they did it is de-
seribed by several eye witnesses. a